Kindergarten

I know I haven't posted in forever, but here are a couple shots of Dallen today from his first big day of school. He got to ride the bus and loves his teacher Mrs. Wright. He is so excited to be going to the "Big Kid" school, and I am just as excited for him. :)
He is 43.5 inches tall and weighs 42.5 lbs. He chose his outfit all by himself, and he picked out a Lego Chima backpack.

The Fan

When I was growing up, we lived in a brick oven. Literally! It was a house built in the '60's, had weeping mortar, a septic tank and no air conditioning. I adored the place! Except for the explosion of the septic tank in the front yard (that's a whole separate story), and the no air conditioning. For those who live in Utah, you know exactly how hot this desert air can get. When outside is unbearable, going into a place that harbors air well is hotter than sitting on the back porch in the sun with a mirror reflecting on your face! 

Well in my teen years whilst going through the times of tribulation. By that I mean the menopausal heat flashes and irritability all teenage girls seem to go through, I decided to take some of my hard earned cash and buy myself a fan. It was a small fan that sat on my 12"x12" nightstand and only blew on my face. Yes my sisters hated me for it, but I did not care that they had to hear it and not get any of the benefit from it. I was going to cool off!

 I didn't know what I was doing to myself. I simply wanted to just cool off back then, but a habit was building over time that my body would never be able to let go. I am now a fan addict! Yes I am admitting it, an outright addict! Not only can I not sleep without the white noise, I have to have a nice soft breeze to feel comfortable enough just to get to sleep. Over the years this has been a topic of both casual and heated debate with Dave. Not only has the poor fellow had to put up with the air blowing onto his side of the bed, he has to buy me new fans when the old ones die or get "accidentally" dropped and broken off the nightstand. Yes enter image of the "lamp" from A Christmas Story. No I am not saying that my husband has some jealous intent to destroy my precious air.....but it's quite the convenient cover story. ;)

Well after my latest fan passed away Sunday, David simply asked if I could try to just get used to sleeping without a fan. Mainly because there aren't a lot of places that sell fans in February, and because he can't stand it. However, I had my travel fan nicely tucked away for emergencies and couldn't let it go to waste! Sorry Dave but the thought was nice!

Although this seems like a really lame story, I was thinking about the things we spouses do, give up and give in to for each other. There is always the one thing that you can't stand your spouse doing. May it be bathroom etiquette. Or dumping clean laundry on the floor just to use the basket for dirty laundry. Or not rinsing dishes. Leaving the water running while you brush your teeth. Or turning that dumb fan on before bed. The list goes on. But, there are thousands of things you allow your spouse simply because you love them. I appreciate my allowances from Dave, it tells me how much he truly loves me. It's part of the fun I think that most people see as hurdles not worth jumping for. Jump for the fun of it! Don't let the little things tear at you, choose to not let them agitate you. After all it's just a fan! :)

Albuquerque

 We left Friday morning with 10 hrs of road ahead of us. Dallen was so excited for this trip and he was well prepared for the length of the drive. The drive down was nice, however New Mexico was of course peppered with cops. If they weren't racing past you on their way to stall someone else. They were pacing you no doubt checking plates and speed. We were lucky to get through the spiderweb untouched! Upon arrival to Albuquerue, we encountered a large snow storm. It was not what we expected, thanks Dave for letting me get new tires last week! 

We got in early enough for a nice dinner and some pool time. Then came the night....the night were most people get to sleep early in prep for competing early the next morning. But in sharing a bed with Dallen, it was kicks squirms and no sleep. Finally I asked him at almost 3am why he couldn't sleep. He said he was too excited! Go figure! Well we finally got some rest, and early in the am we headed to the feis.

It was business as usual once we got there with the big hair, bling, and tans. We set up camp and got dressed to bring it. Once the dancing started it went fairly smooth, ranging from 10am till about 3:30pm. Since the comps ran consecutively Arielle was in charge of Dallen. A couple times we were on stage at the same time, so I didn't get to see him in every dance. But I heard a lot about them! Countless people approached Arielle and I inquiring about Dallen. His nickname according to most the young girls in the room was "Orange Tie Guy"! Each time he would get on stage a bunch of girls would gather in front to watch him. Before the hard shoe rounds we were able to participate in a parent/child two hand in which we ended with a big kiss on the cheek. The judge and crowed got a kick out of it. It wasn't until after when a handful of people approached me asking me about him, and whether I was his sister that I felt a bit awkward. Confusion was across the board I guess, but we still stole a 2nd place trophy. 

By the end of the competition my feet felt like lead weights. It was cool meeting new girls from different schools. It was fun being with some of the Scariff Hardiman, and Power Academy gang. Although I did not perform the way I wanted to, I did my best and surprised myself with a few medals too. When I saw that Dallen got 1st in his reel I cried. As Momish as that sounds, I was so proud of him. He worked so hard and it paid off.

We celebrated with a nice dinner and some more pool time of course. On our drive home we had a couple stops that weren't planned. First I am ashamed to admit I got caught in the web and received my first speeding ticket in 10 years (this April). I was going 80mph in a 70 zone. The guy was hidden at the top of a hill and got me just as I gunned it to pass in the only passing area for miles. We were in the middle of no where and of course out of state licenses give them the right to pursue. I was peeved to say the least. A whopping $76 to the New Mexico state, who didn't even run my license, registration or insurance. Literally "highway robbery"! The second stop was to Arches. We decided to take a couple hours to drive through the park and check it out. Our minds were blown! That place is amazing, and we didn't even get to hike cause it was so cold and snowy. After trying to get out and freezing our faces off for a couple shots, we decided to finish the last 3 hours home. All in all the trip was a fantastic break and very rewarding. We are looking forward to our next road trip in a couple months!